AMC’s tense conspiracy novel of a series Rubicon heads into the climactic episodes of the narrative as the tension continues to ratchet up on all fronts. Will Travers (James Badge Dale), the presumptive hero of the story, continues being backed into a corner even as he begins to put the pieces together. Meeting with Katherine Rhumor (Miranda Richardson), who has been doing some research of her own into the suicide of husband Thomas, Will may finally be getting somewhere. However, very little that either Will or Katherine are up to is going unheard by the conspiracy—no matter how careful Will thinks he is being. He can barely make a move without being seen and heard—and it’s taking its toll on his psyche.
Will has been camped out in his neighbor’s apartment, situated conveniently right across the alley from his building. We (and eventually Will) wonder if her presence is a little too convenient. And although she protests vehemently that she’s an innocent in this claustrophobic game, I wonder if the lady doth protest too much. Is she, too, involved somehow, or is she, like Kale Ingram (the always interesting Arliss Howard) now appears to be, some sort of guardian angel protecting the hero as he gets ever closer to the truth (which is always a highly dangerous proposition)?
When the series first begins, it is unclear on which side (other than his own) Kale resides—is he a good guy or as sinister as he appears to be? But Kale has assisted Will in his efforts to uncover whatever it is that his father-in-law (and former boss) David was onto before his death in the first episode. And now Kale (who sweeps his apartment for bugs regularly) finds that he, too, is under surveillance. But experienced spook Ingram can still slip “off the grid” and elude even the most adept intelligence operatives it seems—much to API Director Truxton Spangler’s (Michael Cristofer) frustration. Soft-spoken and small in stature, Kale looks anything but imposing. But his affect is just that. It is easy to see Kale as the assassin he probably once was; he moves with the stealth of a ghost—as any good spy must.
I’m going to speculate for a moment and suggest that Kale is the real eventual hero of this story. He is certainly one of the most complex characters in a series of intellectual (and somewhat nerdy) geniuses. He’s a brilliant, tough ex-ops agent, an out-of-the-closet homosexual with a live-in partner. He’s extremely protective of Maggie (Jessica Collins), an administrative assistant at API, the intelligence think tank at which most of the characters work.
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Article comments
1 - hishamharum
ploddingly slow. All we see a lot of is actors going through files, walking about, looking for bugs, discussing matters on the rooftop, having endless meetings... it's a cheap set and looks it. This for me was something that held promise but fizzled out before the third episode.
2 - logan
This show simply gets better and better. I'm so hooked on the intrigue, both in the office and out of it.
3 - hishamharum
Oh,one more thing; the cliffhangers or what they're supposed to be, really aren't. One episode ends with the protagonist smashing a bug and the latest one sees him getting a note with a picture...
Still, as irritated as I am with the series and how unsophisticated and old-school it is where espionage is concerned, I hope it would get better. For now, I would think that this series is so badly edited; so many redundant scenes, like Will, the supposed hero staking outside that lady's home. And several scenes showing the girl sorting papers in a small room with dialogue that contributes nothing to the whole story. And a whole scene showing Kale looking for bugs around the house (for the umpteenth time) and then discussing a new lamp with his other half which again doesn't contribute much to the main story. And then you have a scene where Kale threatens Will's ex PA's husband just to show that he has a bit of gangster in him... but how weak was that scene too.... I am not trying to diss anyone here. Just terribly disappointed in how this series has turned up. And enough with the four leaf clovers already.... as well as that particular black and white picture. So tiring...
4 - barbara barnett
If you look at the series superficially and expect that everything we know is out there in black and white, then yeah, who cares? But this is a story in which nothing should be taken for granted. It seems straightforward, but is it? The "girl" sorting papers is double PhD Tanya. Maybe she'll see something in that stack of papers that leads them to Kateb (or Qtub or however they spell that name). This isn't "24," It's Graham Greene (who I'm sure figures in some way in the morass of clues).